Improving Social and Play Outcomes for Students With Significant Disabilities During Recess.

Three middle-school students with autism and intellectual disability took part.

Each child watched short videos of themselves playing recess games with trained peers.

The videos showed the exact steps for starting games, taking turns, and talking to friends.

Teachers then coached the kids during real recess using the same steps.

Sessions ran three times a week for six weeks.

All three students doubled or tripled their playground interactions.

They stayed in games longer and used more words with peers.

Parents reported their kids talked about recess at home for the first time.

Alwahbi et al. (2021) got the same big gains, but used reward contracts instead of videos.

Both studies show peer training works best when you add something extra—either videos or prizes.

Dai et al. (2023) tested peer play with preschoolers who had autism plus ID.

Their kids also improved, proving this combo helps across ages.

Menezes et al. (2021) reviewed 18 studies and found every recess peer program worked when typical kids were trained first.

You can copy this tomorrow. Pick one student, film them doing a recess game with a trained peer, and show the clip before recess. Coach the child to copy the steps you just filmed. Track how many times they talk or play. Most kids see change in two weeks.